NASA Delays in Testing Lunar Rocket System Reflect Need For Increased Oversight – Report

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Repeated delays by NASA in tests of three closely related systems needed to return American astronauts to the moon illustrates a need for upgraded management oversight of lunar exploration plans, the General Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report.

Artemis I refers to the first of three test flights of three closely related systems being built by NASA – the Orion crew capsule, the giant Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and ground systems needed to support lunar exploration, the report said.

This new launch date fails to account for the impact of COVID-19 on the US space program while past delays and cost overruns increase pressure on NASA to meet its latest launch schedule, according to the report.

Costs of the SLS, the most powerful rocket ever built, have increased by 42.5 percent, while cost overruns for the entire program have surged $3 billion to a total of $11.5 billion, the report said.

NASA is pursuing an aggressive goal to return American astronauts to the surface of the Moon by the end of 2024. The success of NASA’s plans hinges, in part, on two upcoming test flights. An uncrewed test flight and subsequent crewed test flight are intended to demonstrate the capability of a new launch vehicle, crew capsule, and ground systems, the GAO said.

Sourse: sputniknews.com